The Vilnius Task Force (VTF) under ACCESS Consortium, in cooperation with the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the UN, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, and Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, invites residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as well as those working to support the future of Eastern Ukraine, to Q&A session with Ukrainian and international leaders on May, 27, to be held between 10.00 and 11.30.

Why? The objective of the event is to facilitate a direct dialogue between residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and national and international stakeholders. According to the VTF research “The HDP Nexus and civic engagement in local decision-making in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”, political communication regarding the region and with its dwellers is often perceived by locals as lacking. The Q&A aims to bridge this gap in communication and bring together civil society members, state regional administrations, local self-government, civil-and-military administrations, and national decision-makers as well as Ukraine’s development partners for a meaningful discussion on the needs and perspectives of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The talk will also proceed ahead of the Ukraine Reform Conference (July 2021) and the International Vilnius Conference II in fall of 2021.

High-level representatives: Deputy Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Mr. Snaver Seitkhalil, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mrs. Osnat Lubrani, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Mantas Adomėnas, Director, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, Mr. Andreas Papaconstantinou, and Swiss Delegate for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador, Mr. Manuel Bessler.

Programme: (Kyiv, Eastern European Time)

10.00 —10.05: Technical introduction by online event organiser

10.05 — 10.10: Welcome notes

10.10 —10.15: Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Snaver Seitkhalil, Deputy Minister

10.15 – 10.20: United Nations, Osnat Lubrani, Resident Coordinator – Humanitarian Coordinator

10.20-10.25: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mantas Adomėnas, Deputy Minister

10.25-10.30: DG ECHO, Andreas Papaconstantinou, Director

10.30-10.35: FDFA, Manuel Bessler, Head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department

10.35 — 11.25 Q &A

11.25 —11.30 Wrapping up

Format: The event will be held in Ukrainian and Russian, with interpretation to English. The consultation will be streamed online on social media, with the link to be available after the registration.

Registration: To access the online event, please register here.

On the Vilnius Task Force The Vilnius Task Force was established as an outcome from the International Vilnius conference titled “The Future of Eastern Ukraine: From Humanitarian Needs to Development and Peace Perspectives” that took place in October 2020. It aims to promote a political dialogue between local and national authorities, civil society and international organisations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as to support the active participation of local communities in policy-making through participatory democracy mechanisms.

The event is supported by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and is implemented in coordination with the UN and Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition.